Creating a Rain Garden
Time
Budget
Skill
★ ★ ★ ★ ★Rain gardens are unique landscape components that help to reduce erosion, mitigate storm water runoff and filter and purify pollutants in runoff water. A rain garden contains plants that can tolerate standing water for a short period of time as well as periods of dryness (drought). The garden should fully drain within about 2 days of rain event.
Tools
Mulch
Rototiller
Square Shovel
Rain garden plants
Organic amendments: Soil conditioner, small gravel, manure, etc.
Choose a low-lying location where rain water runoff tends to collect
Dig out a very shallow hole (3-6” below grade”) 50 square feet of rain garden per 1000sq. ft. of impervious surface (roof, drive way etc.)
Incorporate soil amendments to existing soil; clay soils require pea gravel and large particle compost, Sandy soils require small particle compost and/or manure
Decorate margin of rain garden with stones etc.
Plant rain garden plants in the amended soil inside rain garden
Mulch plantings with organic mulch
Recommended Rain Garden Plants (plants that tolerate brief periods of standing water and periods of dryness):
- Winterberry (sun-shade)
- American beautyberry (sun to partial)
- Red Chokeberry (sun to partial)
- River Birch (sun)
- Bald Cypress (dwarf Cultivars) (sun)
- Florida Anise (shade)
- Inkberry (shade)
- Sweetshrub, Calycanthus (shade)
- Carex, sedge (shade)
- Cardinal flower (shade)
- Hibiscus (sun)
- Virginia Sweetspire (sun-partial)
- Witchhazel (sun)
- Chinese Fringetree (sun)
- Juncus (sun)
- Goldenrod (sun)
Recommended Reading: Rain Gardening in the South, Helen Kraus & Anne Spafford, Eno Publishers, 2009